


Stand By Me

by ororosmunroe



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Blood, Possible Spoilers, Post CATWS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2014-05-07
Packaged: 2018-01-23 22:13:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1581320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ororosmunroe/pseuds/ororosmunroe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He had made a bad call. </p><p>And now Sam was paying the price for it.</p><p>Natasha told him that it wasn’t his fault. They had gotten faulty intel.</p><p>Steve didn’t care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stand By Me

**Author's Note:**

> Just a tumblr fic I wrote. Moved it over here.

He had made a bad call.

And now Sam was paying the price for it.

Natasha told him that it wasn’t his fault. They had gotten faulty intel.

Steve didn’t care.

He made a bad call and it was about to cost him everything. Natasha bit her lip. Trying to stifle the tears that were welling up. She was a goddamn assassin, she thought to herself, she dealt out death like a dealer dealt cards at a casino. She knew death intimately. She knew how to cope. Looking into the window, however, something inside of her broke. _Not Sam_. Not one of their own.

The scene was eerily reminiscent, she thought to herself, of when they brought Nick in. So much blood.

Natasha turned her head and looked at Steve. His face was blank, his body stood still like a pillar of stone. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Sam since they had gotten to the hospital.

" He’s a fighter…h-he’ll make it." No he wouldn’t. Reality whispered into her ear. The wounds were too great and the amount of blood he had lost…Sam was going to die. Natasha bit her lip until she tasted copper.

Steve continued to look through the window. It had been a while after they had started tracking Bucky. Being in close quarters with Sam allowed them to see each other as they were. Somewhere in the midst of their travels Steve had started to develop feelings. They were different from how he felt for Peggy…or how he felt for Bucky. It was something that he could barely describe. These feelings were new and fragile. They needed protection. Sam had somehow become an integral part of his life and Steve didn’t know what he would do without him.

Because losing Sam was not an option.

Suddenly the twin doors burst open to reveal a small black woman rushing down the hall with tears streaming down her face. Her eyes…her body posture held an intent to hurt It was Sam’s mother, Steve realized, he had a seen a of picture of her at Sam’s place. She was smiling, glowing from sheer happiness. Sam had just come home from his final tour.

"HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE! AFTER HIS LAST TOUR HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE!"

"Mrs. Wilson…"

She struggled to get herself calm, ” I don’t know what you’ve gotten my son into Mr. Rogers but it ends. Now.”

The doors opened again to another figure that Steve recognized. It was Sam’s father. He tried to pull her way from Steve, fearing she tried to do something in her grief.

" I’m sorry Captain Rogers."

" Why are you apologizing? OUR SON IN ON THAT TABLE BECAUSE OF HIM!"

" Sam is a grown man Darlene. He makes his own decisions." Paul was trying to be calm. To be level-headed. When they had heard that Sam had gotten severely hurt they rushed to the hospital as quickly as they could. When they got to the hospital all he could hear were Darlene’s cries for their son.

"Please, tell us what happened." A million thoughts went through his head. Every prayer that he knew he threw up to God.

" We were following a lead. It turned out to be faulty." Natasha stepped in before Steve could speak. She knew that Steve would blame himself.

" A lead? A lead on what?" Sam had told him that he was helping Captain America with something but never said anything more. The vagueness of it all brought the conversation into mind. Was this what he was talking about?

" We were tracking a lost soldier…he had been taken hostage by Hydra and they experimented on him. We were trying to recover him." Stick to the facts. Telling everything at once only complicated things, Nick taught her that.

" He was doing it as a favor to me. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson i’m so-" Sorry? That wasn’t going to save Sam. That wasn’t going to help his grieving parents. Mrs. Wilson was right, Sam was on that table because of him and he didn’t know how fix it.

When he didn’t hear the surgeons work he turned to the window. They had stopped. One of the doctors, the head surgeon, became walking towards the hall where they were.

" We’ve done all we can….the injuries he’s sustained were great…and he’s lost too much blood. I’m sorry, but I don’t think that he’ll be able to last the night."

Darlene began to wail into her husbands arms.

" Can we see him?" He whispered, he turned his head and looked at Steve and Natasha. "Them too."

Paul Wilson was not a cruel man. If this was the last day that his son was going to be allowed on this earth he would not keep the people he cared about away from him.

"Of course…"

They all filed into the room quietly. Darlene took Sam’s hand gently and cradled it in her own. She brought to her chest just as she held him close to her as a baby.

" My boy…my Sammy…" She whimpered. Paul spoke a few prayers. He clutched his wife’s shoulder tightly.

Natasha stood in the background. She didn’t know if she deserved to be there. Not after all she had done. How many families had she done this to? For the KGB…SHIELD…even in some way HYDRA. She had been taught to kill cleanly, Quickly, so that she could move on to the next target. Besides Fury, seeing Sam, sweet courageous Sam, slowly inch his way to death hit her harder than she though a death ever could.

Steve swallowed his tears. He didn’t deserve them. He should’ve never let Sam come along. It was selfish of him that he allowed it, he knew. A part of him admitted to needing Sam by his side. How natural it all felt for them to be close to each other. Sam shouldn’t have been fighting for his life. He should be living it. Doing what he loved. He stood in the back with Natasha, it was the least he could do for Sam’s parents.

Hours passed and still no change occurred. Paul took Darlene (who was very reluctant to go) back to their hotel across the street to rest. He promised her that he would call if there was any change. When she was settled he returned to the hospital and went to the chapel to pray. Natasha, unable to continue watching Sam like this, went to go get food for herself and Steve.

" He would want us at our best…or…something akin to it." Steve didn’t react.

When he heard the door close, he walked to the chair next to Sam and stared. The tears he had been fighting since they had gotten to the hospital began to well up once more. There had to be a way. He had to fix this. Sam understood him in a way that only three others people in his life did. He couldn’t bear to lose him too.

" I’m sorry Sam. So so sorry. I don’t know what to do…I don’t know how to fix this." The small twitches Sam body made gave him sign that he was still fighting.

How could he help Sam fight an enemy like death? It seemed like Death was Steve’s ultimate bully and he hated him with a passion. How do you fight when the fight itself wasn’t fair?

" You’ve become so important to me Sam. So vital…I don’t know how I could’ve done all this without you…" He sniffed and wiped his nose quickly. Vital like a heartbeat. That’s what Sam was.

And then a thought struck him. Sam needed blood. But blood alone wouldn’t be enough. His wounds were too severe. But maybe…a little bit of serum injected blood could do it.

Steven turned around and grasped Sam’s hand gently.

"I’m gonna make it right Sam. I’m gonna fix this. Don’t leave me just yet."

He desperately called for the head surgeon.

" Take mine."

" Excuse me?"

" My blood. Take it. Save Sam. _Please_."

"Captain, there are too many variables. I’ve studied the procedure that you went through during Med school and we don’t know what that would do to Mr. Wilson."

" What do we have to lose? Sam is slowly slipping away. You said that you all did what you could, but I haven’t. Help me save him. Help me save the man I’m falling love with."

_The man I’m falling in love with._

The sentence echoed through his entire body. That was the feeling he couldn’t describe, he realized. It had grown so subtly that he barely noticed his deep admiration grow into something more.

But now that he said it he couldn’t help but want to tell Sam.

" Please, we’re running out of time." The surgeon still looked a bit unsure but sighed.

“ Before we begin, I need express consent from his family before we undergo any type of procedure. I saw Sam’s father walk into the chapel not to long ago. Tell him what you have planned. If he consents then we can begin.”

Steve quickly nodded and sped to the chapel. He saw Paul on his knees and his head bowed.

“ Paul, I need to talk to you. It’s Sam.” Paul’s head shot up, and turned around.

“ Sam? Captain…is my son…?”

“ No and if my plan works he’ll be more than fine.”

“ I don’t understand.”

“ I don’t have much time to explain. Sam needs blood but his wounds are too severe to do much help. I volunteer to give some of my blood.”

“ The serum…” Paul’s eyes widened. He got up from his knees.

“ Yes. This might be the only chance we have to save Sam. Please.”

“ Let’s go save my boy Steve.” They rushed back to Sam’s room; the doctor had gotten all of the tools needed to do the transfusion. Steve quickly rolled up his sleeve and sat down in the chair. He barely felt the prick of the needle. All he could focus on was Sam.

 _This has to work_ , Steve thought desperately, _it had to_.

Because losing Sam wasn’t an option.

The surgeon hooked up the tubes and injected the needle into Sam’s arm. They watched the blood travel through the tube and enter into Sam. They looked at the various monitors and hoped against home that there would be a change.

“ What is going on here?” Darlene’s voice broke the silence. She couldn’t rest. Not when Sam could possibly leave her at any moment. Seeing the three men stand around her son she feared the worst.

“ We’re playing our last card Darlene.” Paul said.

“ I gave Sam some of my blood…I just hope that it will be enough.” Steve said quietly.

They continued to watch the monitors. Nothing had changed. The hope that had been coursing through the room was beginning to diminish. Until suddenly the monitors began to spike. Sam’s body was starting to convulse.

“ What’s wrong with Sam?” Natasha asked as she walked in, the food in her hands completely forgotten.

“ I gave Sam my blood.”

“ What? Steve.”

The monitor started to become erratic. Sam was starting to sweat profusely, moaning in pain.

“ Sammy…hold on. Please baby you got to hang on.” Darlene pleaded. This was torture. Watching her son be in such a condition and she couldn’t do anything to help.

“ You can do it Sam.“ Paul said, he mentally prayed to all the angels in heaven. All this pain that his son was going through…it couldn’t be for nothing…it just couldn’t be.

Sam began to breath heavily. He was starting to move around on the table. Paul, Steve and the doctor rushed to keep him still. Steve gripped tightly, he could feel a change in his friend. He was getting stronger because Steve starting to fight harder to keep a grip on him.

A few minutes later Sam stopped moving completely.

The monitors dropped to baseline.

“ Sam…” Steve croaked. No…please…not Sam…

They slowly let go of Sam. Darlene began to cry once more. Natasha slowly took her into her arms. She wasn’t good at comforting by any means but it felt right. She bit the inside of her jaw until she tasted blood again. Not Sam.

With a heavy heart the doctor was about to call it. That is…until he noticed the beeping of the monitor starting to increase once more. This time it was slowly rising. Becoming more stable. He quickly checked the major wounds that he tried to close up before during surgery. They were significantly better. Sam’s vitals were becoming increasingly better.

It was unbelievable, to say the least.

“ I…this wasn’t cover in my med program so the only thing I think can is that we’ll need to keep an eye on him.” He pressed the comlink and asked for nurses to help get Sam on a stretcher. They needed to move him.

“ A private room. A nice one. With a big window. Sam loves looking towards the sky.” Natasha said. The doctor nodded.

Sam was starting to breath deeply. The look of pain lessened. Which allowed the clenching of Steve heart to lessen.

“ My boy…my boy…” Paul whispered happily, he started to cry a little.

When the nurses came they moved Sam to the private room. The doctor told everyone that they needed to rest. It looked like Sam was out of the danger zone, physically speaking. They would do more tests in a few hours.

Once they got everything settle, Darlene kissed Sam’s forehead twice, whispering that they would talk once he woke up. She and her husband went to their hotel room. Before they left, she grabbed Steve’s hand and whispered thank you.

Steve nodded, but he didn’t think he deserved it. Saving Sam wasn’t an obligation. Or a return of a favor. It was a necessity of the heart.

“ I told you he’d make it.” Natasha smiled, happiness suited her nicely Steve noted. “ When will you start believing me?”

“ I’ll never doubt you again.” Steve smirked.

“ We’re so gonna have words when you wake up Wilson. Count on it.” Natasha kissed him on the cheek. She punched Steve lightly on the arm and left the room.

Steve sighed and walked over to the chair closest to Sam. He looked at his friend, relief hitting him like a wave. He didn’t know what effects his blood would have on him. Steve guessed they’d figure it out soon enough.

All that mattered now was that Sam was safe and off of death’s door.

He slouched down into the chair and allowed himself to close his eyes and smile for the first time since they got to the hospital. A few hours later the door knocked, and a nurse came in with a package and a note for Steve:

 

>  
> 
> _Don’t forget to freshen up before Sam regains consciousness. You look like shit. Also, here’s your cell. Call me when birdman stirs._
> 
> _\- Nat_

 

He wouldn’t question how she got all of his things to him so quickly; he just did what she told him to do. He went into the bathroom and did the best that he could and sat back down. He took out his phone and put his music (which Sam greatly influenced) on shuffle.

Before he could slouch back down he heard a slight rustling on the bed. Instantly at full attention he turned his head towards Sam. His heartbeat started thumping faster and louder.

“ Sam…?” His eyes were moving under his eyelids. He was regaining consciousness.

_When the night has come_

_And the land is dark_

_And the moon is the only light we’ll see_

Slowly opened his eyes and awkwardly moved his head to voice.

_No I won’t be afraid_

_Oh I won’t be afraid_

_Just as long as you stand_

“ On…your right.” Sam wouldn’t tell Steve that he heard him when he was talking to the doctor. Frankly he wasn’t even sure if what he heard was real or just his lovelorn imagination. He’d wait until Steve said something.

_Stand by me_

Sam’s voice was scratchy and low but it made still made Steve eyes well up. He let a short laugh. Trying desperately not cry he instead smiled and whispered back,

_So darling darling stand by me_

“ On your left.” Causing Sam to return the smile.

_Oh stand…by me_

_Oh stand...stand by me_

_Stand by me_

The distinctive sound of ‘Stand by Me’ by Ben E. King played in the background. Funnily enough neither of them remember putting that song on the phone. Steve had his suspicions, but he didn’t think the culprit would talk.

_If the sky that we look upon_

_Should tumble and fall_

_Or the mountain should crumble to the sea_

He’d thank them anyways after he and Sam officially became an item a few days later.

_I won’t cry I won’t cry_

_No I won’t shed a tear_

_Just as long as you stand…_

Or maybe after the wedding.

_Stand by me._

**Author's Note:**

> Hoped you like it. 
> 
> Reviews/Comments would be lovely and highly appreciated.
> 
> Please do not repost.


End file.
